Episode Details

Main Topics

Communications

* Northwood, a next-generation phased array ground station provider, has raised $100M in Series B funding led by Washington Harbour Partners LP and co-led by Andreessen Horowitz, this was announced alongside the closing of a $49 million Space Force deal. [source]

* Eutelsat said a planned sale of its passive ground infrastructure to a private equity firm announced in August 2024 will not proceed, eliminating roughly $658 million in expected proceeds. [source]

* Apolink has partnered with ground segment provider RBC Signals to resell the startup’s proposed in-orbit relay services, aiming to fill connectivity gaps when satellites are out of view of terrestrial command-and-control links. [source]

* Airbus announced an agreement with Skynopy to leverage the startup’s software-defined ground station tech, which aims to decrease latency on Airbus’ Pléiades Neo high-resolution (30cm) Earth observation constellation. [source]

* SpaceX submitted a revision to their BEAD (broadband equity, access, and deployment) filing to relax service requirements to low income households, making it easier for them to receive their $733m grant. NTIA has prompted states not to sign the petition. [source]

* Globalstar is planning on launching a new constellation, doubling its current fleet to 54 satellites, including 6 in-orbit spares, and operating in the same 1,414-kilometer orbit by 2026. Globalstar is vague about what services its new C-3 constellation will offer, but will likely be a high power S-band D2D service primarily funded by Apple’s $1.1B investment, and built by MDA Space and Rocket Lab. [source]

* Hanwha is exploring a South Korean defense constellation with MDA Space and Telesat, using the Aurora platform to make a lightspeed compatible LEO broadband network. [source]

* Astranis is partnering with the MB Group to deliver a small GEO satellite to Oman, part of a $200M investment in sovereign connectivity and Oman’s Vision 2040 program. [source]

* Luxembourg-based EmTroniX and France’s Anywaves have agreed to merge into a single industrial group spanning Europe and the United States, aiming to offer integrated radio frequency and payload subsystem technologies to commercial, institutional and defence space customers. [source]

* Tokyo-based satellite company ArkEdge Space Inc. has signed letters of intent with three international organizations to d